Australian Gold Nugget
Encyclopedia
| Gold Nugget (Australia) | |
|---|---|
| Edge: | Reeded |
| Composition: | 99.99% Au Gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a... |
| Years of Minting: | 1986–present |
| Obverse | |
| Design: | Elizabeth II Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,... |
| Designer: | Ian Rank-Broadley Ian Rank-Broadley Ian Rank-Broadley FRBS is a British sculptor who has produced many acclaimed works, among which are several designs for British coinage.... |
| Design Date: | 1999 |
| Reverse | |
| Design: | Kangaroo Kangaroo A kangaroo is a marsupial from the family Macropodidae . In common use the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, especially those of the genus Macropus, Red Kangaroo, Antilopine Kangaroo, Eastern Grey Kangaroo and Western Grey Kangaroo. Kangaroos are endemic to the country... |
| Designer: | Stuart Devlin Stuart Devlin Stuart Devlin is a significant contemporary gold and silversmith. Australian-born, he has designed coins for countries around the world, and became especially well known as London-based designer of gold and silver collector's items in the 1970s and 80s.Devlin was born in Geelong, Australia, and... |
| Design Date: | 2006 |
The Australian Gold Nugget is a gold bullion coin
Gold coin
A gold coin is a coin made mostly or entirely of gold. Gold has been used for coins practically since the invention of coinage, originally because of gold's intrinsic value...
minted by the Perth Mint
Perth Mint
The Perth Mint is Australia's oldest currently operating mint ....
. The coins have been minted in denominations of 1/20 oz
Troy ounce
The troy ounce is a unit of imperial measure. In the present day it is most commonly used to gauge the weight of precious metals. One troy ounce is nowadays defined as exactly 0.0311034768 kg = 31.1034768 g. There are approximately 32.1507466 troy oz in 1 kg...
, 1/10 oz, 1/4 oz, 1/2 oz, 1 oz, 2 oz, 10 oz, and 1 kg of 24 carat
Carat (purity)
The karat or carat is a unit of purity for gold alloys.- Measure :Karat purity is measured as 24 times the purity by mass:where...
gold. They have legal tender
Legal tender
Legal tender is a medium of payment allowed by law or recognized by a legal system to be valid for meeting a financial obligation. Paper currency is a common form of legal tender in many countries....
status in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and are one of few legal tender bullion gold coins to change their design every year, another being the Chinese Gold Panda
Chinese Gold Panda
The Chinese Gold Panda is a series of gold bullion coins issued by the People's Republic of China. The official mint of the People's Republic of China introduced the Panda gold bullion coins in 1982. The panda design changes every year and the gold Panda coins come in different sizes and...
. This and their limited annual mintage may, unlike for many other bullion coins, raise their numismatic value over the value of gold used.
The Gold Nugget series was introduced in 1986 by the Gold Corporation
Gold Corporation
Gold Corporation is a company owned by the Western Australian Government, established by the Gold Corporation Act 1987, with a mandate to operate the Perth Mint, to market Australian gold and other related activities....
, a company wholly owned by the government of Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
. This issue of coins had two unique features: a "two-tone" frosted design effect, and individual hard plastic encapsulation of each coin. These features were unusual for a standard bullion coin and gave the Nugget a unique market niche.
From 1986 to 1989, the reverse of these coins pictured various Australian gold nuggets. With the 1989 proof edition, the design was changed to feature different Kangaroos, a more world-recognized symbol of Australia. The coins are today sometimes referred to as "gold kangaroos".
In 1991, 2 oz, 10 oz, and 1 kilogram sizes were introduced. These were created with the intention of using economies of scale
Returns to scale
In economics, returns to scale and economies of scale are related terms that describe what happens as the scale of production increases in the long run, when all input levels including physical capital usage are variable...
to keep premiums low, and are some of the largest gold coins ever minted. In 1992, the face values on these large coins were lowered to keep them proportional to the 1 oz coin. The reverse of these coins does not change annually like the lower denominations; the same "red kangaroo" design is used every year.
In October 2011, the Perth Mint created a one tonne gold coin, breaking the record for the biggest and most valuable gold coin, previously held by the Royal Canadian Mint
Royal Canadian Mint
The Royal Canadian Mint produces all of Canada's circulation coins, and manufactures circulation coins on behalf of other nations. The Mint also designs and manufactures: precious and base metal collector coins; gold, silver, palladium, and platinum bullion coins; medals, as well as medallions and...
. The coin is approximately 80 centimetre in diameter and 12 centimetre thick. It features a red kangaroo on the front of the coin and a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II on the reverse. The face value of the coin is 1 million, but at the time of minting it was valued at over 53 million.
The Australian Gold Nugget coins should not be mistaken for The Australian Lunar Gold Bullion coins. Both coins are minted by Perth Mint and have .9999 purity, but Lunar coins use images of different animals from the Chinese calendar instead of the kangaroo.
Specifications
| 1/20 troy oz coin | |
|---|---|
| Diameter: | 14.10 mm |
| Thickness: | 1.40 mm |
| Weight: | 0.0500 troy oz (1.5552 g) |
| Face value: | $5 |
| 1/10 troy oz coin | |
|---|---|
| Diameter: | 16.10 mm |
| Thickness: | 1.30 mm |
| Weight: | 0.1000 troy oz (3.11 g) |
| Face value: | $15 |
| 1/4 troy oz coin | |
|---|---|
| Diameter: | 20.10 mm |
| Thickness: | 1.80 mm |
| Weight: | 0.2500 troy oz (7.78 g) |
| Face value: | $25 |
| 1/2 troy oz coin | |
|---|---|
| Diameter: | 25.10 mm |
| Thickness: | 2.20 mm |
| Weight: | 0.5001 troy oz (15.55 g) |
| Face value: | $50 |
| 1 troy oz coin | |
|---|---|
| Diameter: | 32.10 mm |
| Thickness: | 2.65 mm |
| Weight: | 1.0001 troy oz (31.10 g) |
| Face value: | $100 |
| 2 troy oz coin | |
|---|---|
| Diameter: | 40.40 mm |
| Thickness: | 3.35 mm |
| Weight: | 2.000 troy oz (62.21 g) |
| Face value: | $500 (1991) $200 (1992- ) |
| 10 troy oz coin | |
|---|---|
| Diameter: | 59.70 mm |
| Thickness: | 7.65 mm |
| Weight: | 10.00 troy oz (311.0 g) |
| Face value: | $2500 (1991) $1000 (1992- ) |
| 1 kilo coin | |
|---|---|
| Diameter: | 74.50 mm |
| Thickness: | 15.80 mm |
| Weight: | 32.154 troy oz (1000 g) |
| Face value: | $10,000 (1991) $3000 (1992- ) |
| 1 tonne coin | |
|---|---|
| Diameter: | approx 800 mm |
| Thickness: | approx 120 mm |
| Weight: | 1012 kilograms (35,697.2 oz) |
| Face value: | 1,000,000 |